Tag: south-america | ArchDaily

Architecture in the Andes: How Altitude Shapes Design Decisions

Daniela Andino — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 07:30:00 +0000

The Andes are often understood as a continuous mountain range, yet they encompass a wide range of climates and ecosystems. In Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Chile, páramos, dry highlands, temperate valleys, and snow-covered landscapes can exist within relatively short distances of one another. As elevation changes, so do temperature, solar radiation, humidity, wind, vegetation, and topography, producing environments that require different ways of building.

A Beating and Bleeding Heart: Bodies, Streets, and the Politics of Care in Bogotá

Sydney Coldren — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 07:30:00 +0000

This article is the winning entry of the Epistle Writing Prize 2025, an annual competition dedicated to recognizing outstanding writing on design, architecture, and the environment.

15th São Paulo Architecture Biennial Names Gabriela de Matos and Pedro Rossi as Chief Curators for 2027

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 05:30:00 +0000

The 15th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial (BIAsp), scheduled to take place in September and October 2027, announced architects Gabriela de Matos and Pedro Rossi as the event's chief curators. Following the previous edition on the theme Extremes: Architectures for a Hot World, the duo is expected to bring critical perspectives on architecture, culture, and the city to bear on the theme Architecture, Culture, and Sovereignty. Their role is to direct the conceptual development of the Biennial, assemble a curatorial team, and run a public call for co-curators.

Building Public Life: How Bogotá and Mexico City Addressed Urban Inequality

Daniela Andino — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 07:30:00 +0000

In many Latin American cities, peripheral neighborhoods have historically had less access to the resources that make urban life more than just livable. Housing, transportation, and public services are the usual markers of that gap. But there is another gap that is harder to quantify: the absence of places where people can gather, learn, rest, and participate in collective life. When those spaces do not exist, the city not only fails to provide a service. It fails to acknowledge a presence.

Regenerative Salt Landscapes: An ArchDaily Student Project Awards Winner Rethinking Extraction in Argentina

Moises Carrasco — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +0000

When people think of Argentina, they often picture landmarks like the Obelisk of Buenos Aires. Yet the country spans over 2,780,400 km², making it one of the largest in South America and home to a wide range of landscapes and realities that frequently go unnoticed. In fact, the province of Jujuy in northern Argentina lies within the Lithium Triangle: a high-altitude region shared with Bolivia and Chile that contains roughly 54% of the world's lithium reserves. Within this territory sits the Olaroz Salt Flat, a site where today two competing dynamics converge: the expansion of industrial lithium extraction and the preservation of ancestral culture and lands inhabited by Kolla and Atacama communities, creating a clash of high-capacity industrial extraction and traditional, low-impact agrarian practices.

Public Space in Use: Región Austral and the Architecture of Everyday Life

Daniela Andino — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Architecture is often evaluated through what gets built. But in many cases, what matters happens after: how spaces are used, adapted, and made part of everyday life. For Región Austral, winner of ArchDaily's 2025 Next Practices Awards, this is where design really begins. Working across many contexts, the practice approaches public space not as a single object, but as something that needs to be activated, negotiated, and sustained over time. Their projects focus less on defining form and more on creating the conditions for use, with design serving as the starting point.

Kengo Kuma & Associates Unveils Its First Project in Ecuador with Qapital Tower

Reyyan Dogan — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Kengo Kuma & Associates has unveiled plans for Qapital, a 32-story mixed-use tower set to rise in Quito, Ecuador, in collaboration with local developer Uribe Schwarzkopf. Scheduled for completion in 2029, the project marks Japanese architect Kengo Kuma's first work in the country, extending the studio's international portfolio into the South American context. Located opposite La Carolina Park in Quito's central business district, the 125.8-meter tower introduces a vertically organized program that brings together residential, commercial, and shared amenities.

Contemporary Ecuadorian Architecture: Connecting Materials, Environment, and Culture

Agustina Iñiguez — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Ecuador's territory embraces a remarkable diversity of landscapes, ranging from the Pacific Coast to the peaks of the Andes, the vast expanse of the Amazon rainforest, and the volcanic Galápagos Islands. Each region of the country presents its own distinctive characteristics, reflected in its varied environmental, cultural, and social contexts. While Latin American architecture is rooted in rich ancestral traditions, native construction techniques, and local materials, contemporary Ecuadorian architecture expresses an evolving identity that blends these elements with actual demands. Tradition and innovation, local resources and modern techniques, along with social responsibility and aesthetics, interact with the natural environment, urban conditions, and social contexts.

40+ Contemporary Architectural Works Across Ecuador Captured by Francesco Russo and Luca Piffaretti

Antonia Piñeiro — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

Between 2023 and 2024, photographers Francesco Russo and Luca Piffaretti documented architecture and landscapes across Ecuador's coast, the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest, the Galápagos Islands, and cities such as Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. The photographic documentation explores Ecuador's evolving identity through its contemporary architecture, examining how it engages with natural surroundings, urban conditions, and social contexts. The resulting archive includes more than 40 projects by renowned local practices such as Al Borde, Durán & Hermida, Emilio López, José María Sáez, La Cabina de la Curiosidad, MCM+A, Natura Futura, and RAMA Estudio, among many others. The selection demonstrates how architecture can create high-quality spaces that respond to contemporary demands for sustainability and environmental responsibility by combining creativity and technology with renewable resources, despite ongoing economic, climatic, and political challenges in Latin America and beyond.

Energy Landscapes: How Infrastructure Reshapes Territory in South America

Daniela Andino — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Some of the most significant transformations of South American landscapes have been produced not by cities, but by large infrastructures built to extract and distribute natural resources. Mining operations, energy systems, and transport networks have connected remote landscapes to broader economic structures while transforming rural territories and urban settlements throughout the continent. These infrastructures do not simply occupy space; they reorganize it. They have not only supported economic growth but also reconfigured territories in ways that continue to generate political, environmental, and social debate across the continent. From this perspective, territories can be understood not as fixed geographic areas but as socio-ecological systems shaped by cultural, environmental, and political relations, a point emphasized by anthropologist Arturo Escobar in his work on territorial thinking in Latin America.

Legacy in Matter: Material Traditions in South American Architecture

Daniela Andino — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Across South America, architecture endures through the materials it uses, those that persist over time. Bamboo, brick, wood, and concrete appear across regions, connecting climate, labor, and culture in ways that ensure their persistence through generations. Their continuity does not depend solely on preservation or heritage. It depends on use.

Environmental Comfort as an Interior Condition in South American Architecture

Daniela Andino — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Across South America, environmental comfort is understood not as an interior condition, but as one shaped through space. In regions marked by heat, humidity, intense sunlight, and seasonal variation, architecture has long relied on spatial decisions to moderate climate and support daily life. Comfort emerges from how interiors are opened, shaded, ventilated, and inhabited over time.

Community-Centered Architecture: Redefining the Role of Architects in South America

Daniela Andino — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 08:30:00 +0000

Across South America, architecture is increasingly being understood as a collective act. Rather than imposing external views, many studios and designers are building with and for communities, learning from their local practices, materials, and ways of inhabiting. These projects are repositioning the architect's role from an author to a facilitator, transforming design into a participatory process that centers collaboration, care, and mutual respect.

Ammodo Architecture Awards 2025 Announces 26 Recipients for Socially and Ecologically Responsible Design

Reyyan Dogan — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 03:30:00 +0000

The second edition of the Ammodo Architecture Award has recognized 26 recipients for their contributions to socially and ecologically responsible design. Selected from 168 submissions spanning over 60 countries, the laureates represent a wide range of practices, from established offices to emerging collectives and community-led initiatives. Each recipient receives a grant ranging from €10,000 to €150,000 to support the continued development of their projects. Beyond recognition and financial support, the Ammodo Architecture initiative also functions as a knowledge platform, connecting awardees across regions and facilitating the exchange of ideas on key themes identified by the advisory committee.

Childhood and Ancestry: What South American Indigenous Communities Can Teach Us About Environments for Children

Camilla Ghisleni — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

In South American Indigenous communities, a child’s place is wherever they choose to be. Babies crawl on the earthen floor, approach the fire, investigate anthills, and experience the world with their whole bodies. They learn by feeling: discovering limits, recognizing dangers, and gathering lessons no manual could ever teach. In urban contexts, by contrast, children are often confined to spaces designed for adults, filled with rules that—though well-intentioned—tend to distance them from essential experiences. Rather than judging which model is “better,” what matters is recognizing that when cultures observe one another, there is always room for learning.

Lessons from Roberto Burle Marx: Designing Resilient and Evolving Urban Landscapes

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Roberto Burle Marx is often celebrated as a pioneering figure in landscape architecture, particularly for his innovative approach to integrating nature within urban environments. His work, characterized by a deep respect for native flora and a commitment to ecological balance, offers valuable lessons for contemporary landscape architects. At a time when climate change and biodiversity loss are pressing global concerns, revisiting Burle Marx's principles provides insight into creating urban spaces that are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing but also resilient and sustainable.

The New Stone Age: 12 Contemporary Houses in Latin America and the Diversity of Their Natural Stones

Camilla Ghisleni — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Latin American architecture is rich and diverse. This is reflected in the various stones used across different regions over the centuries. These materials highlight the varied geology of Latin America and illustrate how local cultures have adapted their construction methods to natural conditions, resulting in unique and meaningful architecture. In contemporary architecture, stone aligns with sustainability principles due to its durability, low carbon footprint, and local availability. Additionally, stone's aesthetic appeal enhances the creation of timeless spaces that strengthen the connection with nature and the surrounding landscape.

Building Stronger Communities: The Role of Regional Identity in 7 Multi-Purpose Projects

Hadir Al Koshta — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 05:00:00 +0000

A region's identity is deeply tied to its community spaces. These spaces—whether parks, public squares, or community centers—reflect their users' culture, history, and values. They don't just preserve regional identity; they actively shape how communities engage with their environment, fostering a dynamic relationship between place and people. Community spaces are more than just physical locations; they are vital social hubs that foster engagement, cultural expression, and a sense of belonging. These spaces symbolize a shared identity and purpose.